Chelsey Pettyjohn

Illustration (BFA) / Chelsey Pettyjohn

Night Religion

Night Religion is a series of 61 drawings and paintings—containing small gouache pieces, acrylic on wood, and large-scale, ink works-on-paper—that was the result of an intense production period where I sought to create instinctive, honest imagery. The work is emotional, but finds a balance between depression and humor: a drawing can have a new layer to reveal each time you look. I utilize a certain color palette: muddy pastels inspired by Native American patterns that reflect my Midwestern upbringing. I also use a collection of self-made archetypes: the priest, the girl, the fox, and the shaman. These figures are often solitary in their empty environments. I am interested in articulating profound sadness and loneliness in a way that can be viewed as delicately, strangely beautiful.